is how they are detected. my heart certainly did itsjob, my body did itsjob. very lucky, but also, unlucky in a lot of ways, i can't dwell on what would have happened or what should have happened or what could have happened. no one could have predicted how life has turned out, james taylor was in his cricketing prime, playing for england, living his dream. alll wanted in my career was to play for england, i have fought so hard, so many ups and downs, i thought i should have played more than i did, i grabbed it with growth hands, it wasjust coming good. —— i grabbed it with both hands. it has all been taken it with both hands. it has all been ta ken away from it with both hands. it has all been taken away from me. the best moment i ever had in my life was one of the la st i ever had in my life was one of the last days i ever played for cricket, catching this catch, in johannesburg, winning the game for england, among some great guys in the team. it does not get much better than that, that is what i set out to do. i achieved it, ijust did ita out to do. i achieved it, ijust did it a lot less than i imagined and hope. coming to terms with life after cricket has been tough, but

they smile is neverfar away after cricket has been tough, but they smile is never far away from they smile is never far away from the man who believes that support from social media helped him through his darkest days. lying in bed, being a bit cynical, thinking, if i did die, i wonder who would miss me?... itwas did die, i wonder who would miss me?... it was like i died and it was overwhelming, 26 million tweets... that was in the first two hours. the positivity coming my way, i dread to think where i would be without it, if that support was not there. i have always been fit and strong. i have always been fit and strong. i have always been into sport. good at cricket, one of the best. and then i realised, i'm not invincible! that is probably the toughest moment. i realise the important things in life. life is not too bad, that's for sure. james taylor, there. that's all from sportsday. there'll be more sport here on bbc news throughout the evening. goodbye for now. studio: the headlines: chancellor

angela merkel says that she will speed up deportations of failed asylu m speed up deportations of failed asylum seekers as she thanks italian police who shot dead the burlington a suspect. the round—the—clock work on the ra i lwa ys the round—the—clock work on the railways that will mean no trains on many lines this christmas. —— shot dead the burlington terror suspect. —— shot dead the berlin terror suspect. two men are convicted at the old bailey of using syria aid convoys to funnel cash to extremists in war zones. now convoys to funnel cash to extremists in war zones. now on convoys to funnel cash to extremists in war zones. now on bbc news, meet the author. petinah gappah writes about a country that some may think one of the most miserable on earth, zimbabwe. where political disintegration and total economic collapse in recent years have consigned so many people to a life of hopelessness. yet, in her collection of short

stories, rotten row, as in her previous books, she finds a reservoir of resistance, humanity, cheerfulness in adversity. the people in these pages have the same hopes and fears as they would have in a world of plenty. and although they live in a collapsed state, they are, extraordinarily, as recognisable as the people next door. welcome. in a way, these stories are miraculous, because they are a tapestry of survival, really, in a country... a country that has collapsed... that's so lovely of you to say, because i see myself as writing about resilience, because resilience is the quality that strikes me as being the most extraordinary about zimbabwe and zimbabweans today.

it's a really difficult environment, economically, politically, socially, and yet, somehow, people manage to find ways to love, ways to be, that are really... i love that word, miraculous. and the fundamentals of human behaviour and human interaction come through, because there's nothing else left. yes, that's right. it's really about, ultimately, human relationships. i wanted to write a book that looks at human relationships through a particular prism, and that's the prism of the criminaljustice system. and so i thought that this world is an interesting commentary about the political situation in zimbabwe without necessarily making it purely about politics. well, that's right. you're talking about a society in which violence and death are ever present, even in slightly odd ways. we have the story of zaka the zulu who ends up killing his best friend at school.

and the people who were at school can't really believe 15 years later that it's happened. this is all something that's very close to the surface. i love that story in particular because it's very much inspired by one of my favourite authors, pdjames, for whom the character of the person is partly what leads to what happens to them. it's really a character driven story. zaka the zulu is a little bit unusual in this book in that it doesn't have anything to do with the circumstances in the country, because a lot of the crimes that i discuss in the book are opportunistic crimes. crimes that come out of rage and stress and anger. but that one is a particularly interesting one, because it's a crime that is rooted in the past. you talk about the politics without giving a running commentary on it. there's a wonderful story called the president always dies injanuary. laughter. people are waiting! but, just take us back to the moment when a difficult situation suddenly became one of utter desolation, economically. people fleeing,

people with no money. it was as if all the normal functions of a state just stopped. i always say that in many other countries, in normal countries, government is supposed to be a facilitator. in zimbabwe, government is an inhibitor. government is a thing that stops you from achieving your dream. and in many ways these stories reflect that aspect of government. i love that you mentioned the president always dies injanuary because, in my defence, that's actually a statement from the presidential spokesman! yes. laughter. because there are always these rumours injanuary that the president has collapsed and died. but yes, the economic situation does play a very important role in that a lot of people have left the country to make better lives for themselves and their children. but the people in my book tend to be the ones who have stayed. and they have stayed in these really difficult circumstances. i really admire people who have stayed. i don't like the phrase "brain drain", because it suggests that people who have left the country

are better than those who have remained. i think it's actually a very offensive term, the brain drain, because i think the people that have remained in zimbabwe are actually a very special kind of hero. we shouldn't give people the idea that this is a book that is going to be depressing from beginning to end, because it's full of fun. clearly, there's a depressing political background, whatever your political views are. i know you are a supporter of the opposition in zimbabwe. so that's a depressing scene. and of course there is poverty, of course there is violence, of course there is injustice. but there's this sort of well of cheerfulness that's extraordinary. that's true. it's kind of a mordant humour, isn't it? a kind of gallows humour. if we cannot change the situation, we may as well laugh at it. i sometimes think that zimbabweans are not able to have any kind

of african or zimbabwean spring, in part because we are able to laugh at our own misery. how would you describe the character of the country now, the place that you grew up, which went through this terrible political convulsion? i'm very much influenced by something that a friend of mine said. he said, the thing that makes me sad about zimbabwe is that i no longer recognise the places of my childhood. physically recognise? physically recognise, as well as emotionally recognise. and i really felt something in that. but at the same time, i wonder whether i'm not caught up in nostalgia, you know? because countries do move on. and i don't know whether — having left zimbabwe when i was 23 and only going back for occasional visits — whether i'm really the right person to say, this is what zimbabwe has become. because obviously, zimbabwe to me is a very sad place at the moment, because it's not the zimbabwe i remember. but maybe that zimbabwe is what has to be in order to get us to the next stage. i honestly don't know. it's really complicated.

one, he obviously controls the state. that's beyond question. but this is something that western audiences don't really like to hear... yes? ..he‘s also quite popular. he's an incredibly funny man. he's extremely charismatic, especially when he's speaking in shona. so there's a mix of popularity and power there. there are people who genuinely vote for zanu—pf, much as it pains me to admit. there is rigging, and there is, you know, coercion, but there are also people who genuinely vote for him. as i say, in the book you present these portraits of characters who are very resilient and full of fun and full of... i don't know, a philosophical wisdom about their plight. do you think it's a place where there still is hope? i think so. maybe it's a desperate kind of hope, but i really do believe that there is enough in our past and in our present to give us a really hopeful future.

it's interesting, you have written before about life in zimbabwe. and these are vivid, vivid pictures of people who are living through this difficulty. it's almost as if you don't want to let this experience go, because it's so rich it provides a writer with so much material and so much evidence of what human beings have to do. it's a rich seam to mine, isn't it? that's actually a very acute observation. in many ways, this book is everything i'm thinking about zimbabwe right now, because i want to step away from it for the next two or three books. i'm stepping away from zimbabwe. so this is my goodbye zimbabwe book for the time being. because i will come back to zimbabwe, i hope, two or three books from now, but for now, i think i've said just about all i want to say about the richness of zimbabwe. so there will be a pause and then you will say, "hello zimbabwe", again? once again, yes. petinah gappah, thank you very much. thank you very much. notjust one but

not just one but two notjust one but two named storms in the forecast, the weather will impact on all of us in the next few days to a greater or lesser extent, add banner of heavy rain, some school the winds in association with that the wind will continue, more particularly this evening across the far north of scotland. this is where the peak of the wind will be, gust of 80, 90 mph. the most exposed parts, amberwarning in of 80, 90 mph. the most exposed parts, amber warning in force. of 80, 90 mph. the most exposed parts, amberwarning in force. be prepared for storm barbara. barbara continues to whistle away into scandinavia, still some very strong winds across the north as we head into the night, frequent wintry showers. ice will be a significant risk, particularly on higher—level routes. further south, things settle down, it will turn chilly as we

start christmas eve. barbara pushing away north—east, run of westerly wind, cold winds, low levels across scotland, gradually easing a touch, rain piling in. allthe scotland, gradually easing a touch, rain piling in. all the while, further south, relatively quiet, bright and breezy day. not too bad in the sunshine. things will go downhill as we had through christmas eve night, wet and windy weather piling in across northern ireland and scotland in particular, patchy rain through the south, all due to this deepening area of low pressure. for a this deepening area of low pressure. fora time, a this deepening area of low pressure. for a time, a lot of warmth reacting to the low—pressure system, christmas morning is going to be remarkably mild, temperatures into the mid—teens. there will be some strong winds and further wind coming down, that front is going to be important, cold front, bringing rain

southeast during the course of christmas day, and behind that, as we head into christmas night, much lower temperatures which could turn showers quite wintry. over the high ground, we could end up with a white christmas. by boxing day, the low—pressure reacting christmas. by boxing day, the low— pressure reacting to christmas. by boxing day, the low—pressure reacting to a named storm, connor looks like affecting the far north—east of scotland, with gusts of 18, possibly 90 mph. —— 80, possibly 90 mph. further, quieter, drier, brighter. —— conor. this is bbc news, the headlines at seven, the man suspected of the christmas berlin attack is shot dead stop yellow at that moment, the man got hold of a pistol and without hesitation fired towards the police officer who had asked for rider dedication documents.|j officer who had asked for rider dedication documents. i pledge allegiance to the commander of the faithful, al—baghdadi. allegiance to the commander of the faithful, al-baghdadi. so-called

islamic state releases footage of him pledging allegiance. around the clock work on there are no trains on some lines. two men are accused and convicted at the old bailey, of funnelling cash to extremists in war zones through aid